Following a Jewish tradition, Ben Stiller He stepped on a glass bottle to call for good luck every time a new movie premiered. But in 2016, when it was her turn to Zoolander 2, the glass went through the sole of his shoe and cut his heel. The omen was not wrong, the sequel was a total failure both at the box office and with critics, a result that led him to completely rethink his career.
Stiller, who wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film, had high expectations because its 2001 predecessor had achieved success, achieving cult status within the comedy genre. “I thought everyone wanted this”, he revealed in an interview on the podcast Fail Better. “And then it was like, ‘Wow, I must have really screwed this up. Not everyone attended. And it got horrible reviews.”
According to reports from Box Office Mojo, Zoolander 2 It barely managed to raise USD 56 million globally, falling short of its budget of USD 50 million.
The title featured the return of iconic actors from the first installment, including Ben Stiller, Owen Wilsonand Will Ferrellin addition to including cameos from popular celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. The formula was seemingly foolproof, but it received a negative 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, and viewers weren’t far behind either.
The negative comments focused on how “unfunny” and “unintelligent” the result was. At the 2017 Razzie Awards (which recognizes the worst films of the year), it received the highest number of nominations, with nine mentions in total.
“It really scared me because I thought, ‘I didn’t know it was that bad.’. What worried me most in that case was that I was losing what I think is funny, self-questioning. Zoolander 2 It was a surprise to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time,” Stiller said.
After this experience, the filmmaker took a break to sit with himself and deal with the film’s failure, as well as rethink his other ongoing projects. “The wonderful thing that came out of that for me was just having a space where, if it had been a success and they had said ‘Make Zoolander 3 right now’ or they would have offered me some other movie, and I probably would have jumped to do that,” Stiller reflected.
The period of introspection ultimately became a catalyst for diversifying his career, as well as exploring and delving into his true passions and creative abilities, discarding comedy. “Even if someone said ‘Well, why don’t you do another comedy?’ No. I’m sure I would have thought of something, but I just didn’t want to. I was just hurt”he added.
Finally, the confrontation with reality prompted him to rediscover his true vocation. “It was about finding myself in terms of what he creatively wanted to be and do. I always loved directing, making films. Since I was a child, and they were not necessarily comedies,” he maintained.
In later years, his new direction led him to direct the acclaimed crime drama Escape at Dannemora (2018), a production for which he received a DGA award for best direction in the television category, and a Primetime Emmy nomination. On the other hand, in 2022, he produced and directed the series Separationadding a second Emmy nomination.
His latest project will bring him back to movie theaters since the infamous Zoolander 2. The Seven Five is Stiller’s upcoming crime drama in collaboration with Amazon/MGM. The first conversations for the lead role in the film are being held with none other than Jeremy Allen White, from Bear. At the same time, the script is in development by Tony McNamara, responsible for The favourite and poor creatures.
